NTR’s story is so vast, it would take six films to encompass it all, says director Teja at launch of upcoming biopic

The who’s who of Telugu industry came together on 29 March morning for the grand launch of NTR biopic, which will feature actor Nandamuri Balakrishna in the titular role of his late father and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. The highly anticipated event took place at Ramakrishna Studios in Hyderabad and it was presided over by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu. In the introductory shot of the film, Balakrishna was seen in the avatar of Duryodhana from his father’s film Daana Veera Soora Karna. A lavish stage was set up with a large throne in the middle. Balakrishna was fully adorned with jewellery and wore a large gold crown on his head. The prestigious project will be directed by Teja, best known for films such as Jayam, Nijam and Nene Raju Nene Mantri. [caption id=“attachment_4410561” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  First look of the NTR biopic. Image from Twitter.[/caption] Speaking on the occasion, Venkaiah Naidu said he usually doesn’t attend film events. “I made an exception this time because of the respect I have for NTR. He was the one who gave recognition to the Telugu community at the national level and he will always be an icon for us. This day will go down in the history of Indian cinema. Despite my busy schedule, I came down from Delhi for this event and have to be in Pune this afternoon. I made a quick stop here because today is a very important day for Telugu people. While there’s no denying that history will remember NTR, it’s important that we have to remember him through cinema, which is a powerful medium of communication and can truly honour his life. I wish Balakrishna best of luck in this endeavor” Veteran filmmaker K. Raghavendra Rao, one among the many popular personalities who attended the launch, said both Balakrishna and Teja are extremely blessed to be part of this project. “I wish to direct at least one shot in this film. I hope Balakrishna and Teja would give me this opportunity.” Producer Allu Aravind of Geetha Arts said that it takes guts to even attempt to narrate the story of NTR on screen. “I’m not surprised because only Balakrishna can take such risks. He comes from such a family.” Director Teja, in his speech, said he wasn’t sure if he could justice to this opportunity when he was initially approached. “Everybody knows I’m a huge fan of NTR. I consider myself extremely lucky to have landed this opportunity. I’ll try and give my best efforts. NTR’s story is so vast; it’d take six films to encompass everything. We’ve tried to encapsulate everything into one film and I hope we will do justice. We’re targeting Dussehra festival release.” Balakrishna thanked all the guests for taking out their time to attend the event. “My world is my father. NTR’s name is the heartbeat of Telugu people. He’s their pride and it’s an absolute honour to be playing him on screen. I need to thank our co-producer Vishnu Induri for coming up with this idea of making a biopic. I told him it’ll be a prestigious project and a lot of people would like to get involved. I need to thank the writers Sai Madhav Burra and Srinath for giving us a wonderful story. March 29 is an auspicious day. It was on this day my father attained the mass hero status with his 1951 film Pathala Bhairavi. My father’s most popular film Lava Kusa released on this same day. This day also happens to be the foundation day of Telugu Desam Party.” To be jointly produced by Balakrishna, Vishnu Induri and Sai Korrapati, the film will have music by MM Keeravani. Famed lensman Santhosh Thundiyil will crank the camera while Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao will take care of editing.